You're The One I Desire
by IDreamOfBlueSkies
Summary: After the Avatar gang welcome Zuko into their group, they find a girl in the middle of a forest nearby unconscious, and discover that she is from the Spirit Nation. Zuko/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story has been transferred from my now empty, but still active account, SmileForMe16, so don't be alarmed if you've seen this before. I don't publish what's not rightfully mine. I would pretty much be a disgrace to all of Fanfiction, because well, the objective of this site is to get people to be creative.**

**Anyways, enough of that, and if you haven't read this already, enjoy and review! :)**

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><p>Aang! How much further do we have to go?" The brown haired ponytailed teen known as Sokka whined next to his sister, Katara, who in response, nudged him in the ribs.<p>

"Stop complaining Sokka. We're almost there," She scolded him, annoyed at her older brother who had been complaining for last ten minutes. Aang shook his head.

"No worries Katara. I know this was a long should be there as soon as we pass over that big cloud over there," Aang said, pointing to a giant cloud that seemed to evaporate has they flew through it. Sokka and Katara's eyes seemed bulge out of their sockets as the Air Temple came into view.

"I-It's upside down how cool!" Katara said astonished as she peered from behind Appa's head. Toph, who was limited to seeing what Katara was so amazed at, stayed in her sitting position in the middle of Appa's back.

"That does sound cool. An upside down temple," Toph muttered. Sokka gawked at Aang and began studying him intently.

"How did you know we had to pass that particular cloud? Are you psychic Aang or are you some kind of alien? All these clouds look exactly the same," Sokka started. Aang laughed as he landed Appa on top of a grassy surface, just above the Air Temple. Appa landed with a thud and Aang hopped off expertly using air bending to bring him to the ground.

Katara and Sokka slid of Appa's back, as did Toph, and carried their supplies that they would have for the next few days that they hid from the fire nation. After their first mission to defeat the fire lord was unsuccessful, they knew the day would come where they would have to make up for their retreat. They would have to be prepared.

"Well," Sokka waited.

"Well, I didn't know. Lucky guess, I guess. I just told you that so you would stop complaining. Funny how that worked out huh?" Aang explained. Sokka gawked again and the others began laughing. Aang used the rope they had bought and tied it around a tree that was near the forest next to the temple and began climbing down. The others followed suit until they were all in front of the temple. Appa flew down to meet them.

" Ha ha ha ," Sokka muttered and set his bags down onto the ground, rolled out his sleeping bag and immediately fell onto his bed.  
>"We have to train Sokka. That means no sleepy time for you buddy," Toph said and kicked the bag that he placed as a pillow under his head. He groaned and stood up slowly.<p>

" It's Appa's fault I didn't get enough sleep. I think I'm getting allergic. His hair kept making me sneeze!" Aang smiled apologetically to Sokka, who at that moment began to sneeze.

"Sorry about that Sokka,"

Suddenly, Toph tensed and got into a fighting stance, facing towards the forest.

"Hey guys, someone's coming," Then there was a rustle in the bushes nearby, and out popped someone they thought they would never see. He wore a nervous smile and waved partially, his eyes only on the Avatar. Too nervous to meet anyone else's glance, including Toph's.

" I mean you no harm Avatar, and the rest of you-," He started.

"We have names you know Zuko!" Katara sneered folding her arms. Sokka nodded in agreement.

"I-I know that, I just, uh. Okay listen. I know, I made some pretty awful decisions in the past. But, I'm willing to make peace with you. All I want to do now, is help take down Lord Ozai," Zuko stuttered helplessly. Toph snorted.

"Are you kidding me? I know your dad is evil and all but really? You want to take down your own father? I don't believe you. You're just as evil as him!" Sokka spoke, unfazed by Zuko's words. Zuko sighed.

"I'm telling the truth! His intentions and mine are not alike. At least not now. I realize now that what I did, and what he's doing, is wrong. Please, I want to help you win. I haven't come here to fight. My only wish is that you accept my apology and that you accept my offer, to teach Aang fire bending," Aang nodded at this. He seemed to be the only person right now that didn't hate Zuko.

" You destroyed our village Zuko! Me and Sokka's home is now in ruins because of you and your stupid fire nation!," Katara shouted angrily, her hands balled into fists at her sides. Zuko took a step forward and looked into Katara's saddened eyes. He was truly sorry for the pain he had caused her, all of them.

" I was young and naive. I'm truly sorry Katara, to all of you. I know you must hate me, for the wrong I've done these last few years,"  
>"May we have just a few moments to ourselves?" Aang asked politely, interrupting Zuko from saying anymore. He turned to his friends and whispered.<p>

"I think Zuko was meant to be my fire bending teacher. I mean think about it. Do you think in a million years any other fire bender would welcome me as an apprentice? Zuko has offered to help. I think he's telling the truth. And besides, we don't have a million years,"  
>"He was telling the truth ever since he got here. I think we can trust him guys," Toph whispered. Sokka groaned, and Katara rolled her eyes.<p>

"Okay, fine," Sokka said. Katara averted her eyes as the rest of the crew awaited her response. Aang put a hand on her shoulder.  
>"Trust me Katara. He is good. I sense it. I know it will take time to fully trust him again, but at least accept him into the group. What matters now is defeating Ozai and restoring peace to the world. Zuko can lead us there," Aang assured her calmly. Katara sighed and nodded slowly.<p>

" Okay,"

The group turned to the lone fire bender who looked to them as nervous as before, shuffling his feet. Aang took a few steps forward.  
>"We have decided to welcome you to our group, however, if you betray us Zuko, we will not take it lightly," Zuko smiled and bowed to Aang respectively.<p>

"I won't let you down. That's a promise," Sokka looked at Zuko with his nose up in the air.

"Good," He said.

"So, now that that soap opera scene is over and done with, where's the grub? All that talking and thinking and stuff made me hungry," Toph said. Sokka walked over to their bags and froze as soon as he looked inside.

"WHERE IS ALL THE FOOD?" He screamed. Toph began to laugh nervously and took a few steps back, prepared if Sokka tried to attack her.  
>" I was hungry," She stated plainly. Sokka groaned as did Katara.<p>

" No worries. There's a small town just a few miles from here. We can travel on foot through the forest. I still have some coins left that'll feed us for a while," Aang said. Zuko retrieved some money from his pocket and held it out.

"You can use this too. It's Fire Nation money, but you can use it just about anywhere. Just make sure you say you found it lying around so they won't suspect you," Zuko finally spoke. Sokka's eyes twinkled in admiration and began shaking Zuko's hand.

"You're my new best friend," He stated. Zuko slipped his hand from Sokka's grasp uncomfortably, and looked the other way.

"What about your clothes? Won't they recognize you're from fire nation right away?" Aang asked.

" I have a bag I carry with me. I camped out in the forest last night while I was following you so that I could see you the following morning. I have some Earth Nation clothes I wore when me and Uncle served tea,"

" You were following us?" Katara asked.

" To beg for your forgiveness," Zuko countered just as quickly. He then ran into the forest to change, and then appeared in Earth Nation clothes minutes later. Then, they all set out on foot to head towards the small town, leaving Appa by himself. There was nothing but tall trees practically covering the blue skies, and every now and then they would see a Saber-Tooth -mouse lion, or a frog hopping about.

Suddenly, a still form caught Zuko's eye. It was a person lying on the ground about twenty feet away. Zuko picked up his pace and gasped when he realized what was on the ground. The others followed suit, and Sokka, being clueless ran with them in confusion.

"What is it?" Sokka asked. Katara gasped loudly, her eyes widened.

"It's a girl!"

She seemed to be unconscious, her hair splayed about. Aang kneeled down and put two fingers to her neck.

"She's okay, just unconscious I guess. I wonder how she got here," Aang said. Zuko looked to the ground in shock. Zuko kneeled down and picked up the girl, holding her securely in his arms. He didn't know why he did, just felt like it was the right thing to do. Sokka gawked wide eyes, staring at the mysterious girl in Zuko's arms, immediately jealous.

" She's beautiful," Sokka whispered, which earned an arched brow from Katara. And she was. Zuko swallowed not knowing what to do with the girl in his arms. He could could feel her heart beat rhythmically in her chest as he cradled had pale skin and long dark purple hair. Her face was really angelic, flawless. Her outfit was as interesting as her hair. Nothing they could really describe.

" W-Where do you think she came from guys?" Aang asked.

"From heaven of course!" Sokka gushed.

" Sokka snap out it! This is serious!" Katara yelled annoyed. That seemed to stir the girl awake in Zuko's arms, which startled him, and soon enough purple irises revealed and looked into his eyes.

" Who are you?" She frowned when Zuko didn't respond. She began to squirm out of his grasp all of a sudden and he let her. She fell to her feet and looked at each of the group.

"Sokka, nice to meet ya! You see, you were kind of unconscious on the ground where we found you. We were on the way to a small village just miles from here. I honestly thought you were an angel and I would have been holding you if Zuko hadn't got to you first-"  
>" I'm Katara, that's my brother Sokka, this is Aang, Toph, and uh Zuko," The girl looked into each of the five pairs of eyes confusedly. Her eyes lingered on Zuko's the longest. His face blushed slightly and looked away.<p>

"What's your name?" Sokka asked.

"Rukia," She replied slowly, and she took a step back, cautiously.

"We won't harm you Miss Rukia. We are just confused as you are. Do you have any idea of how you got here? Where are you from?" Aang blinked.

" The Spirit Nation, and you must be the Avatar,"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to Ai102, and Crystal- Wolf- Guardian- 967, for reviewing! And to the alerts! Enjoy:)  
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><p>The S-Spirit Nation?" The young Avatar asked, his eyes bulged out of his sockets, and he had the tendency to massage his temples.<p>

He, along with the rest of the crew, had no idea such a nation existed in their world. That got Aang thinking. If a Spirit Nation existed, what else could out there that they didn't know about? Rukia nodded.

" I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of it. The village is so small, you'd need a magnifying glass to make it visible on the map," Rukia told them, while taking a glance at Zuko, who had been side eying her the whole time she had been talking. He was also curious.

" A..Spirit Bender? Uncle would be filled with questions, that's for sure," He smiled a bit, then it turned to a frown after he remembered where his Uncle was currently being kept.

His hand curled into a fist and he stopped himself from bending. The gang would surely kick him out, he thought. Rukia had no idea he was even fire nation. He would keep it a secret. Toph dragged out a long whistle and grinned.

"That's so cool! So how does it work? Do you call forth ghosts to fight or somethin'?" Toph asked excitedly. Sokka gasped and held a hand over Toph's mouth who immediately smacked it away.

" An angel is never capable of such _horrid_ things Toph," He stated. Toph stomped her foot onto the ground, and a chunk of rock erupted from the ground, shooting Sokka at least twenty feet up into the air. Rukia looked up as Sokka fell down, amused. He cured under his breath and rubbed his butt.

" Dude, you need to chill. And DON'T touch me again. I prefer you ten feet away, thank you," She added. Zuko scratched his head and his lips pulled into a small grin as he saw Rukia smile, then quickly erased the emotion from his face and averted his eyes to the tree beside him.

" So, are you the only one of your kind Rukia?" Katara asked. Rukia looked away, and shook her head. Her hair new covered the right side of her face, making her seem all the more mysterious and alluring.

" No, my sister's one too," She paused before saying, "Would you like me to take you to my village? There's lots of food, and shelter too, your welcome to stay how ever long you need to," The gang looked at each other bewildered. Her voice seemed to raise an octave, as if she were trying to sound cheery, however, Sokka was oblivious and nodded quickly. Aang took a step forward and bowed to Rukia.

" We would be honored Rukia. Thank you so much for your kindness. Do you have any idea how you got out here anyway?" Aang asked, referring to how they found her passed out on the ground. She began to laugh and shook her head, clearly amused.

" I'm sorry I've worried you. I was simply playing with one of the village children, hide and seek, when I lost sight of him and encountered a giant spider on a tree. I'm terrified of spiders you know," She explained. Katara nodded agreeing, and shuddered at the thought of having a fifty feet tall spider crawling next to her. She would die of fright.

Rukia led the way to the village, which was, when they got to the Spirit Nation territory, mind blowing to say the least. The village was spacious, not small at all how Rukia had described it. There was a flea market nearby where everyone in the village, including Rukia, wore clothing similar to the attire earth benders wore, except they were either dark purple or light grey.

A little boy's laugh brought the attention of the gang, and the boy appeared, while being chased by a little girl his age and height. The boy stopped in front of Rukia, after bowing and giggled up to her, breathless. Rukia arched a brow down at the brown haired, grey eyed boy.

" Kenji," She spoke firmly, then averted her eyes to the little girl next to him. Her brown hair was longer and she possessed green eyes.

She smiled cheekily up to Rukia, one of her front teeth missing from her mouth.

" And Aya. You two should be careful, running around here, especially when there's so many people around. You get hurt or lost,"

" Sorry Rukia," They spoke in unison. She smiled and patted each of their heads.

" You know, when you two get married and have children, you'll look back on these days. I swear your always creating mischief," She replied grinning. Aya stuck out her tongue while Kenji coughed and pretending to double over.

" That's gross Rukia,"

" Yeah, I would never marry Kenji!" The two children started chasing each other again, until they were out of sight. Rukia shook her head chuckled. Aang smiled as he took in the new found village. It looked peaceful and happy, like nothing bad had ever happened to it. Every other village was affected somewhat by the Fire Nation.

" I care for them sometimes when their mother is out," Katara turned to Rukia and laughed.

" Handfuls I bet," Rukia nodded.

" Hard in the head as well," She added and led the group through the flea market. There were stands for fruit and clothing, and a lot of foods that were unknown to the Avatar gang. Suddenly, Sokka stopped short once he caught eye of a young girl behind a pomegranate stand.

" I'll be right back," He spoke and started to run away to her when Katara grabbed his shoulder roughly and pulled him back.

" The ground feels nice here, but there's a lot of cracks too, like its been destroyed, tainted with before or something," Toph commented.

Sokka rolled his eyes.

" You know, you seem so _familiar_, Zuko. Even your name sounds familiar," She added, making Zuko cough and turn his head.

" My name is pretty common around the nations," He spoke quickly. This made Rukia chuckle, almost darkly. His held a hard gaze on her she walked in front of him.

" So, um, do you think you could teach me how to spirit bend? I've never heard of such a technique," Zuko asked. Rukia arched a brow and shook her head.

" I can't just teach anybody spirit bending, let alone a_ fire_ bender. Would want it to get in the wrong hands," Zuko immediately started to stammer in surprise.

" Save it. I can sense these things you know. Also, your skin when you held me. It was warmer than usual. I would know the feeling," She muttered the last part quietly, though Zuko's ears picked it up.

_What could she mean by that?_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I was really planning on discontinuing this story; but here I am with a new chapter! Review! And thank you for all the alerts! :)

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><p>" And this is where I live," Rukia announced, gesturing toward the small run down hut to her right.<p>

" All the house needs is a little color and maybe some..grass surrounding it-Ow!," Sokka exclaimed as Katara elbowed him in the rib, as the group approached the small house.

The walls were a faded dusty brown and shingles hung from the roof. There were large black spots on the house as well. Though the ho

use was abandoned looking, the rest of the property seemed fine, with the exception of the few patches of grass on the ground. There was a tall tree towards the back, that if you climbed, was at least fifty feet high.

"The previous residents were a little careless I imagine. I've only been living here for a few months," Rukia replied. Katara placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder.

" Don't mind my idiot brother. He should be _grateful_ he doesn't have to camp out on the _ground_ tonight," She said, turning to her brother as her voice rose. Aang scratched his head smiling and appeared on the other side of Rukia as Katara's yelling continued, as she repeatedly pointed Sokka's chest.

" Thank you for letting us stay here," Aang said.

Rukia smiled and nodded, leading the crew, through the wrought iron gates. Zuko followed shortly behind. Rukia stood in front of the others and wrapped a small, firm hand around the door knob and pushed it open. It was then that she whistled a small, melodious-like tune, and a giant cat- like creature emerged from a room; baring its teeth when it caught sight of the others.

Sokka had almost immediately drawn his boomerang, his eyes wide and teeth chattering, while Katara's mouth hung open in shock. Aang had placed himself behind Zuko who calmly stood there, unblinking but kept an eyebrow raised; realizing it was the most unusual creature he had ever laid eyes on.

_What was it? Some kind of cat- bird thing?_

_" _What the heck _is_ that thing?" Sokka exclaimed, completely horrified at how big it was. He gasped dramatically as Rukia kneeled down on one knee.

" W-what's happening? Is something about to _eat_ us?" Toph stammered as she took a few steps back herself; and found herself latching onto on of Sokka's arms.

" _Nya,_ these are my _friends_. Aang, Toph, Katara and _Zuko_," Zuko narrowed his eyes when Rukia mentioned his name.

Her voice had darkened, and it sounded eerie on her lips.

Nya groaned as its eyes averted from each member of the group, then rested on Zuko's last. He narrowed his eyes as the creature seemed to be staring him down; challenging him, but he continued to stare back unblinkingly.

" To be honest, I am not entirely sure of Nya's specie; or if she's even a species to begin with. I'd like to think of her as.. a majestic cat-bird..thing. Sorry Nya," Ruki said giggling at the end as Nya groaned to her; and rubbed the fur on her head.

" I'm starting to like you already," Toph exclaimed laughing.

The inside of the house seemed to be in better shape then the exterior. There was a small room when they entered, small table in the center on the royally designed carpet, a bathroom and six bedrooms.

" Wow, I've never seen anything like her! Amazing! She's intimidating yet so gentle and cuddly! How did you find her?" Katara gushed, now that Nya had taken a liking to her. Nya left Rukia's side, and purred as she nuzzled into Katara's hand.

" In the Spirit Nation, I learned long ago that if you are linked with a certain animal, you become one, and they serve as your protector and guardian,"

"Interesting. So if a, oh I don't know, a Hippocow were to approach me; it would basically become my bodyguard for life," Sokka confirmed. Rukia smiled.

" You have to be an actual desendent of the Spirit Nation Sokka,"

"Aw!" Sokka whined.

" That would one _boring_ guardian Sokka," Katara commented. Toph laughed. " Yeah! Not to mention it would eat you alive!"

" You know, Appa you could say is like my guardian too. Which reminds me, I have to go get him. Poor guy's still by himself back at the air temple. I think he'll like you Rukia," Aang said.

"Very well. Return safely young Avatar," Rukia replied smiling. Aang blushed as he waved goodbye, and zipped into the air on his glider. Katara watched from the corner of her eye, slightly irked that she had that kind of effect on Aang, but thought nothing else of it afterward.

"Your welcome to retreat to your rooms whenever you are ready. I'll be in the garden out back," Rukia did a quick whistle and Nya followed suit, snuggling to her side. Aang soon left, and Katara decided to tag along. Sokka sulked, watching the purple haired beauty leave the house.

"I want one of those cat bird thingies," He whined. Toph moaned and rubbed her temples, then yawned, outstretching her arms.

"I'll be in bed, so don't disturb me. It's been _forever_ since I've slept comfortably. The ground seriously sucks," Toph said and retreated to her room, after slamming the door. That left Sokka with Zuko, who had joined the group a few hours before, and began to grow uncomfortable around with the fire bender alone, even if he did _change._ Sokka laughed nervously and faked a yawn.

"Well, I might as well take a nap too. This walk made me really tired. See you later," He spoke, walking to the room opposite from Toph's and shut the door. Zuko sighed and raked a hand through his short shaggy hair, and stared out into the garden where Rukia had left to. He figured he might as well try to make peace with the girl that obviously disliked his very presence, since he had already considered the others to be allies now.


End file.
